


Rainfall

by Zephyrfox



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Angst, Caring, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Introspection, M/M, Nicky being Nicky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyrfox/pseuds/Zephyrfox
Summary: Some time after the movie, Nile gets a chance to stop and reflect about the changes in her life. She misses her family.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 8
Kudos: 181
Collections: A Little Hope





	Rainfall

Rain fell in sheets, rattling against the dining room windows. Nile leaned her head against the glass as she stared out at it from her perch on the window seat. Just watching the rain, since she couldn’t see anything else in the small yard outside the safe house. She shivered in the chill from the damp air. 

They were in France, somewhere. Outside Calais, she thought. She wasn’t entirely sure. All she knew was that this was a place Copley had set up for them, to go to ground between their last job and their next one, whenever and wherever that would be. All four of them had gone over every inch of the place when they arrived, looking for traps or bugs. So far, it seemed clean.

The scent of burning wood drifted in from the fireplace in the living room, carrying with it the promise of warmth later on. Nile crossed her arms, hugging herself. She wasn’t ready to get up just yet.

The rain was mesmerising. She’d been in the desert for almost a year before she died, and it had been so long since she’d seen rain. She felt as though the desert sun had baked into her very self, leaving her dry and crumbling. Now the rain was washing away all her defenses.

Her eyes watered as she stared out the windows. She still hadn’t really mourned. Losing her old life. Losing her family. She had a new family now, but — she missed her mother. She bit her lip. Trying and failing to keep from crying as a tear slipped free, leaving a damp trail down her cheek. She didn’t want the others to know. She just wanted to sit there and grieve. 

A footfall, a soft sole deliberately scraping on the floor, warned her someone was approaching. She hurriedly dragged her sleeve across her eyes to get rid of the damning dampness. To her surprise, a warm blanket enveloped her shoulders from above, and Nicky was there, bending over her, gently tugging the edges closed around her.

“You wouldn’t want to catch a chill,” he said with a wry smile. “Joe and I are by the fire. Andy’s upstairs.”

Sympathy she wasn’t sure she wanted was reflected in Nicky’s eyes, and she looked away, out at the rain once more.  _ You don’t have to be alone,  _ was what he meant. Nile sighed. “Thanks. I’ll… I’m just gonna sit here a while.” 

Nicky stood there for a moment longer, as if he was waiting for her to say something else. Or maybe he was thinking of something else to say? 

“Nicky.” Joe’s voice called from the other room. Soft.

“Yeah.” Nicky turned, but before he left, Nile felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder.

Without thinking, she tilted her head to rub her cheek against Nicky’s hand. She got a quick squeeze in response, and then he was gone. She turned, puzzled by the lack of noise, then realized she’d only heard him before because he didn’t want to startle her. 

Across the room, Joe pulled Nicky into an embrace with a murmured question. Nile didn’t hear the answer, but she knew they were talking about her. Joe pressed a kiss to Nicky’s head and met her eyes. She managed a tremulous smile for him, and he nodded. This time whatever he said to Joe sounded less like it was about her and more like it was about them, because he startled Nicky into a low laugh that felt full of meaning.

Nile smiled after them as they left the room, laying her head against the window once more, but this time she looked towards the dining room. The blanket around her shoulders smelled of vanilla, with something spicy under that, as though it had been carefully put away and stored until just this moment. Maybe Copley wasn’t so bad after all.

She had no idea how long she sat there, lost in thought. Thinking about the past. Wondering what the future had in store.

“Nile? Do you want dinner?” It was Andy. She must have come back downstairs.

“Be right there,” Nile called, getting up and rearranging the blanket around her shoulders. She still missed her family. Maybe there  _ was  _ a way to see them? But that was something she could think about another day.

In the living room, everyone was on the floor in front of the fireplace. Joe grinned at her from where he was wrapped around Nicky, and Andy smiled and held a plate out to her. Nile took it and sat between her and the two men. Nicky leaned over, nudging a platter of sandwiches towards her. 

“We have marshmallows for later,” Andy said, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

“Really?” Nile smiled into the fire. “That will be fun.” 

“Nicky and I are going to the market tomorrow, get some  _ real food,”  _ Joe said, a teasing note entering his voice as Nicky thumped his leg. He grinned at Nile, as if he was sharing the joke with her. “Want to come along?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I think I’d like that.”

“Good.” Andy smirked at her. “They can start teaching you French.”

Nile almost groaned. “So soon?” 

“Don’t worry, Nile,” Nicky said, reassuring. “French is relatively easy. Wait til Andy starts teaching you savate.”


End file.
